


Ember in the Need

by galacticmistake



Series: Into the Beatleverse (Beatles Multiverse) [1]
Category: The Beatles (Band)
Genre: 36-Hour Sleep, Alternate Universe - Magic, Bisexuality, Blood, Body horror involving plants, Casual religious sentiments (but in a well-meaning non-preachy way), Choking, College, Deadly Curse, F in the chat for George, F/M, Fainting, Fever, Flower meanings, George Harrison is a good dad, George accepts his fate, George pushes himself too much, Homeopathic medicine, M/M, Minor Character Death, Nature Magic, Olivia is trying her best here, Plant-based medical care, Premonitions, if that makes sense..., things are getting spicy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:21:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 7,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27294130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galacticmistake/pseuds/galacticmistake
Summary: George is a simple nature witch who uses his power solely for the good of others. However, as he leaves no time to care for himself, a curse sets itself upon him. A curse that is slowly killing him…(A quick backstory into the Beatles Multiverse)
Relationships: Dhani Harrison/OC, Olivia Arias/George Harrison
Series: Into the Beatleverse (Beatles Multiverse) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1992823
Comments: 17
Kudos: 5





	1. Introductions Are In Order

It was a quaint little village. Small, cottage-like houses enveloped in a forest of lush trees and gorgeous flowers that bloomed with the dawning spring. A fine mist in the morning air. All as it was hopefully supposed to be. 

In this quaint little village was a small family. At first glance, nothing stood out. Just a man, his wife, and their small potions business.

However, 2 things stood out.

The first, that man was George Harrison. However, he’s not the George Harrison that the world knows and loves: the guitarist, the race car enthusiast, the movie producer. He had something... different. 

The second, he had extraordinary magical powers. With these powers, he had a good amount of control over aspects of nature. Most of the time, he used his powers to control the growth and well-being of plants and their use for healing ailments and bringing joy to others. However, that’s not all he could do with his powers. He could also talk to animals and read their thoughts, as well as manipulate the weather. He had powers related to ice, rain, snow, and any other weather condition imaginable. He would never cause a natural disaster, however. 

He vowed to himself to only use his powers for the good of others. And he dedicated the rest of his life to helping those in need in the village and the surrounding forests.

He had a wife, Olivia, who he loved dearly. She, like her husband, had nature powers. However, she preferred to work solely with plants and their medicinal benefits. She knew that she wanted to work in medicine, as she was certified in pharmacy, and somehow, she followed that calling in combination with her magic (1). 

The two also had a young son named Dhani. Now, he had powers like both of his parents. However, he didn’t want his life to be solely based around his magic. He wanted something more, something that would fulfill his curiosity and natural intelligence. 

Luckily, he had parents that recognized his intelligence, and decided to fund his college education. He decided to go into engineering(2) , in hopes that he could bring ideas to help the village. And also just because he wanted to study it. 

And his education is going well, as he is due to graduate fairly soon(3).

Overall, they’re an average family, if not a bit too charitable. 

However, things have changed, and those changes haven’t gone unnoticed by George and his family. As he used his powers more and more for others, and not having had enough time for himself to properly heal and rest afterwards, he’s noticed an exhaustion settling in. And not average exhaustion, either. 

The kind that grips you by the bones and never goes away, even if you sleep for 16 hours.

Now, of course, nature magic is draining, and it’s important to be able to recharge and heal, especially if using multiple abilities and spells in a short period of time. 

However, when George had vowed to only use his magic for the good of others, he took that seriously, and thus never actually took much time to recover from a long day’s work of spells and charity. 

But he couldn’t let this small setback stop him from being kind to those who needed it. And now, since the spring harvest was arriving, he couldn’t back down. He knew they needed him, and he couldn’t just leave everyone hanging. 


	2. An Average Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up for religious (Christian) sentiments, minor character death, and homeopathic medicine. I know those can make some people uncomfortable, so feel free to skip this chapter if that's the case.

As the sun began to rise over the quaint little village, George woke up, not quite fully rested, but with his selfless motivations preceding all else in his mind. As he sat up in the bed he shared with his wife, he rubbed his eyes as he looked at the rising sun through his window. 

After a few minutes, he finally got out of bed, dressed, and headed back into the room to grab his watch. 

He wasn’t one for fancy technology. The only tech he had was a simple watch, a basic box TV with basic cable, and high-speed internet. He rarely ever used the internet, but he had it mainly for his son, so he could do school work and keep in touch with his college roommate and other college friends. He didn’t even own a cell phone or a personal laptop. Instead, he had a basic computer setup with only an email address, a printer, and a document processor. 

So, here, it is important to have this note. George did spoil his only son, Dhani, but not in the typical way. Instead of spoiling him with material gifts, he spoiled his son with quality time, often attempting to answer whatever questions his young, blossoming mind had at that moment, and not with a short answer like “Because.” but often in an “I don’t know. Why don’t we find out together?” kinda deal. George was always happy to foster his curiosity, and was extremely proud of who his son was growing up to become. 

As he put his watch on his wrist, he took a moment to rub his sleepy wife’s hair. She absolutely loved the sentiment and gave a cheesy smile as she sat up, her long black hair ruffled at the top, near the scalp.

“Good morning, my dear. You ready?” She asked. 

“Of course.” 

***************************************************************************************************************

It was 6:55am when they began to set up the potion shop. It was a smaller shop, as they only really offered potions with herbs and the like. However, these were no ordinary potions. Thanks to Olivia’s knowledge in pharmacology, the potions were able to contain actual medicine, and therefore, actually be able to heal whoever consumed them. So, in a way, it was another touch of whimsy in this Ghibli-like village. 

As they set up, George couldn’t help but notice how Olivia’s hair caught the rays of the golden sun and held them so delicately in the fresh morning.

“Staring again?” She asked him.

“...Maybe…” He stammered, blushing like he was dealing with his first high school crush.

Finally, 7am hit, and the shop opened for all. And as soon as it did, a younger woman, who had to be a tourist, came up to the small shop.

“Excuse me, sir? Do you have anything to remedy a sprained ankle?”

“Let me check…” he said to himself as he searched around in the cupboards and cabinets for any hope for a remedy. Eventually, he found a small jar of turmeric and a lime. He took them back to the young lady and began to make a paste for her. Her olive hued eyes stared in amazement and wonder as he delicately made the paste.

“May I see your ankle for a second?”

“Why, of course.”

He applied the paste and wrapped a bandage around her ankle, and gave the rest of said paste in a petite jar made out of sea-glass. 

“Now, all in all, that paste will cost you…” He muttered as he rustled around in a medium-sized red leather-bound book. “...3.50£” 

She shelled out 4 1£ notes and took the jar in her hands. 

“Keep the change, sir. Have a wonderful day!”

“You, too, madam!” 

The rest of the morning went smoothly. They made a few more sales, and a neighbor of theirs even brought them a breakfast of jam buttys and 2 cups of oolong tea. However, something unordinary occurred at around 11am, just as Olivia was finishing her butty. 

An older woman appeared at the shop, worn down with age, and in horrible knee pain.

“Excuse me? I was wondering if you youngins would be able to help me with something?”

Olivia set down her cup of oolong.

“Sure thing, ma’am. What seems to be the problem?”

“Well, dearie. My knees seem to be bothering me quite a bit. I’ve tried other remedies, but alas, I’m still in horrible pain.” 

“Pardon my asking, but have you tried cherry juice? Normally, we offer it for sleeping issues, but I’ve also read that it can help with arthritic knees.”

“You know what? I haven’t tried that, but I’d be willing to.”

George produced a bottle of tart cherry juice, poured a bit out, and mixed it with a bit of warm water. He offered it to the older woman and watched as she took a hearty sip.

“Now, I can’t guarantee that it’ll work right away, but hopefully it helps. Now, it might actually be better if you have 2 glasses per day, and maybe mix in some water to hopefully help with the tartness.”

“Oh, I don’t mind the tartness, dearie.” 

“Now, I’ll give you the bottle of juice to continue your treatments at home, if you wish.”

“That would be nice.”

“Now, that’ll be… 2.99£.”

She reached into her pockets sadly, and pulled out about 50 pence. She almost gave the bottle back to George when another villager saw the scene and shelled out a whole 3£ and told the old woman to save her money.

“I would have taken the 50 pence, as well, but thank you, kind stranger.”

“Eh. Just doing what God wants me to, being compassionate and helping the less-fortunate.”

“Well, thank you.”

And on that note, both the kind stranger and the old woman left, both with happiness in their hearts. 

***************************************************************************************************************

Eventually, noon rolled around, and Olivia pulled out a lunch for herself, this one consisting of just a turkey sandwich, an apple, and some water. George got up and left the shop to Olivia, as they both knew that there wasn't much business in the afternoons.

“Roaming around again, I suppose?” 

“Yep!”

“Be back by 2, ok?”

“Sure thing!” 

He walked around for a bit, marveling at the neighbor’s gardens and admiring their plant work. 

Eventually, though, he noticed that everyone’s gardens looked healthy and well-maintained, so he decided to head off to the forest.

Now, George enjoyed a daily meditation session. Sometimes, if he wasn’t busy, he’d meditate about 3 times a day. He’d normally meditate to keep his spirit aligned and to center his mind a bit, to declutter, almost, and set him back straight. And more often than not, he’d do so in the forest, where the people of the village rarely went, so he’d have some serenity and a bit of peace and quiet to truly reflect on his thoughts.

Today, he noticed a prime spot underneath an old evergreen tree that had its trunk covered in moss and the surrounding areas sprinkled in pretty little mushrooms and other fungi. He sat down a bit, and allowed his eyes to close, wondering where his mind would take him this time.

***************************************************************************************************************

_ He was younger here, much more naive and hopeful of uncertain circumstances. But here he was, not as hopeful as he used to be.  _

_ He sat by his mother’s deathbed. She lay there pale and motionless, her breath shallow and staggered, and a cold sweat cloaking her forehead. He sat there, holding her fragile hand, trying to assure her that it would be ok, that she would get better, and their family would be ok, and that everything would return to normal.  _

_ “Mum… please…” _

_ She stroked her son’s hand with her thumb, trying to focus on her breathing, but still doing all she could to reassure her son.  _

_ However, she had accepted long ago that this would be how she died. _

_ “George…”  _

_ “Mum…” _

_ She moved her hand to her son’s cheek, where the only thing she could really stroke was the bone.  _

_ “My son… You’ve grown up to be such a strapping young lad.” _

_ He held her hand tightly. _

_ “Mum, please don’t leave.”  _

_ “You’ll handle yourself, my son. I promise you’ll be ok.”  _

_ And with that, she closed her eyes and breathed her last breath. George sat in silence as tears filled his eyes. _

***************************************************************************************************************

George snapped out of his trance, and began to wonder where that memory came from. He hadn’t been brought to that memory for quite some time, so it was rather odd. However, it made him come away with one important detail: why he opened that shop in the first place.

Ever since that day, he had made it a point to never want to see anyone suffer the way that his dear mother did. 

After a few deep breaths and staring in between the leaves of the evergreen for 2 minutes, he stood up, dusted the loose moss off of his pants, and made his way back to the village and back to the shop.

***************************************************************************************************************

The sun was starting to set over the village, and Olivia was sitting at the computer, typing up an email to her son to wish him well in his last month of studies. As she did so, she noticed George grabbing an acoustic guitar and heading towards the front door.

“Are you not staying for dinner?”

“No, not really. I’ll be back in a few hours, hopefully. At least before midnight, though.”

“Alright. Be safe, though. And when you get back, please acquaint yourself with the microwave.”

“Shame. I wanted Dhan to teach me how to use it.”

“Just because your son is an engineering student doesn’t mean he can teach you how to use a fucking microwave.” 

“I was joking. But in all honesty, I might work some more tonight. I’m not too sure.”

“If you say so.”

***************************************************************************************************************

The village center wasn’t busy this time of night, so George always took it upon himself to pluck out a few tunes as the sun sat and the moon rose.

He always started out with the same chords. 

B

EbM

B

AbM

F#

E

EbM

C#m

B

“You don’t need no love-in, You don't need no bed pan, You don't need no horoscope or a microscope to see the mess that you're in…” 

He sang to himself for a bit while strumming along on the guitar, and the rest of his night went rather smoothly.


	3. Come Back to Sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While reading this chapter, I highly recommend doing so while listening to "Best of Wives and Best of Women" from the Hamilton soundtrack, as that was the vibe I was going for for this chapter.

It was 2 am when Olivia noticed a rustling in the living room. At first, she didn’t want to investigate it, but something in her compelled her to, so she crawled out of bed and silently opened the door to investigate. 

In the living room, with only the light from the radio shining, and with 1920s jazz softly playing, George was arranging a flower bouquet. She wasn’t sure for who, but she knew there was a woman in the town across the lake who was due to have a baby in the next month or so. 

The bouquet itself was a masterpiece. It contained gentian as a symbol of gratitude, pink flowers scattered around for hope, mainly hope for health for both the mother and the baby, rhododendron for strength in these trying times, daisies for attachment and the hope of a secure bond between the mother and her child, and cornflower in the hopes that the baby will always have what they need in life. And of course, baby’s breath. There was no reason for the baby's breath, the name just sounded cute. 

She smiled, as she knew her husband was a generous man. But she also grew sad at the thought that he would keep himself awake for so long just to make someone else happy. 

“George, please come to sleep.” she sighed.

George sighed and slumped back into his chair as he sprouted more baby’s breaths from the palm of his hand. 

“If only there were more hours in the day,” he lamented. “But alas, there’s too much to do. I owe too many people too many favors. I don’t mind fulfilling those favors, although, it does leave me drained. I’m not as young as I used to be, as you can probably tell.” 

Olivia walked closer to her exhausted husband and began to rub his shoulders. As she massaged him, she couldn’t help but marvel over the bouquet, how George had mastered the language of flowers, and how perfectly placed every flower seemed. 

“My dear, it looks lovely. And you look quite exhausted. Come to bed, ok?” she whispered into his ear, brushing his long brown hair into a make-shift ponytail. “You can come back to this in the morning, I promise.”

There was a very pregnant pause, and finally, George took a deep breath.

“Oh, ok. But only because you say so, my darling.”

The two crawled back into bed, and George seemed to fall asleep as soon as the blankets were drawn up to his chin. 

About 5 minutes later, she fell asleep as well, and she held her dearest tight in her arms. 

As soon as they were asleep, a strange feeling filled the air. A feeling that could only mean that things were about to go downhill, and quickly. 


	4. His Premonition

Brian Epstein awoke with a horrible feeling in his gut, one that told him that things were not alright. 

He sleepily made his way to the window, wondering if maybe it was a change in the weather.

However, there was this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him that it wasn’t that, but rather, it was something much more serious. 

Something deadly even.

But he couldn’t be sure, so he looked at the succulents that George had gifted him as a wedding present a few years back, and he saw that they were starting to wilt a little and were losing their color bit by bit. 

Oh no.

This could only mean one thing.

__ _ The curse. _

He ran to the bookshelf and grabbed a blue leatherbound book, hoping to find what he was looking for. 

Sadly enough, he found it, and the page seemed to be glowing.

_ “Le Fléau de Venin”, or “The Scourge of Venom”:  _

  * _A curse in which one with magical powers is done in by their own magic._


  * Often, this curse is brought on to those who misuse their powers. Mostly, those who use their powers purely for selfish reasons. However, the curse can be brought on by careless selflessness as well, mostly when one with exhausting powers does not allow enough time to rest. 



Brian gasped and shut the book loudly, though the page was still glowing. If this is what will come in George’s immediate future, what caused it? George was literally the  **least** selfish person that Brian had ever known, so why of all people would  **he** be affected by the curse?

But then he read through it again:

“ _ However, the curse can be brought on by careless selflessness as well, mostly when one with exhausting powers does not allow enough time to rest. “ _

__ Ah. 

This, he knew, described George accurately. 

He knew that lately, George hadn’t had much energy at the end of the day, yet he continued volunteer projects late into the night and woke up early in the morning to keep running the shop. 

He had no energy left to give, yet he kept on giving. 

This was dire. 

He needed to tell Olivia. As soon as humanly possible. 


	5. Not What I Wanted To Hear This Early

It was around 9am when Olivia woke up, just like any other day.

But today felt different. And not for a good reason.

“Come on, George. I have a feeling it’s gonna be a good day!” She said softly as she tried to shake him awake. 

He still slept.

This was odd to Olivia. This was the first time in a while that she woke up before him, and she didn’t know how to feel about it.

“George?”

Still nothing.

“Oh dear.” She whispered to herself, unsure of what to make of the situation.

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the front door. 

“It’s unlocked! You can come in!” Olivia hollered.

She heard the door open, but no steps were heard in the halls. She groaned a bit and made her way to the front porch.

There she found Brian, pale and in shock.

“Brian! How was your night?”

“Not good.” He whispered. “Not good at all.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Won’t you come inside? I’ll pop the kettle on. How do you feel about a nice cup of Earl Grey?”

“I would love a cup of Earl Grey.” He said as he stood up and headed inside.

Olivia popped the kettle on and prepped 2 mugs with 2 bags of Earl Grey leaves. 

There were a few minutes of tired silence.

But soon enough, the kettle went off, and Olivia moved back from her room. 

“Sorry to ask, but what happened last night, Brian?”

Brian sighed as Olivia poured the boiling water into Brian’s mug.

“I had a premonition last night.”

“Oh?”

Brian choked on his words.

“It was about George.”

Olivia almost dropped the kettle. 

“...George?”

“Yes.”

“Please tell me that it wasn’t him dying in a horrific way.”

Brian sighed again.

“The curse.”

Olivia dropped the kettle.

“Wait. You mean,  _ the  _ curse?” She asked, scared.

“Yes, unfortunately.  _ The  _ curse.”

Olivia grew frightened, and she almost began to cry.

“No… not the curse… not- how would this even affect George anyways? He-he doesn't fit the criteria for the curse at all.”

“I happened to read more about it after my premonition. Turns out it’s a dual edged sword. Both selfishness and selflessness.”

“Oh dear.”

“Now,” Brian said as he picked up the kettle. “With that in mind…”

“That sounds exactly like George…” Olivia muttered grimly.

“But, you know, I could be wrong.” Brian said, trying to reassure her. 

“Your premonition was only wrong once.”

“...you got me there. But we can’t be sure yet. Can I see George?”

Olivia stood in front of the stove.

“...he’s still asleep. It’s the room in the dead end of the hallway. Go straight down and you’ll see it.”

“Thank you, Liv!” 

He stood up and made his way to the room at the end of the hall, hoping to find George in a good state. Instead, he found George sound asleep, almost ghostly pale and with dark circles under his eyes.

“Oh no… I was right.”

There was something else that caught his eye, though. On the nightstand next to George’s bed, there was a timer with 28 hours left on it. He picked it up and took it into the kitchen as Olivia fixed both cups of tea.

“Olivia, when you have a free moment, there’s something I need to show you.”

She sat him down with the mugs.

“What did you find?”

He pulled out the timer, which now read 28:30:09.

“Now, the first sign that someone is affected by the curse is a 36-hour sleep. And I think that’s what we’re seeing now.”

“Where did you find that?”

“On his nightstand. Did you see it before?”

“I did. Or at least, it was there when I went to answer the door. I don’t think I knew it was for that, though.”

“It hurts when I’m right…” Brian mumbled.

Olivia gently put her hand on his shoulder.

“I know.”

He sighed and took a sip of his tea.

“Olivia. Just between the 2 of us, I need you to promise me something.”

“Yes?”

“We don’t tell George about the curse until the first flower blooms from under his skin.”

“Deal.”


	6. Undeserving Criticism

Olivia decided to put the morning behind her and to head off to run the potions shop for the day. In her mind, she knew that she was more than capable of running the shop on her own.

But to her, it just felt empty without George.

About an hour into the jig, someone noticed her all alone and decided to walk up to the shop. 

“All by your lonesome, pretty thing?” The unfamiliar person asked.

“Well, my husband is rather tired today, so I’m letting him take the day off.” Olivia said slyly, just wanting this man to go away. “He’s still asleep, and deservedly so.”

“Wait. Are you actually condoning your husband’s laziness?” The man continued, shocked at George’s non-existent audacity.

“Well, everyone needs a break every once in a while. Now, how can I help you?” Olivia continued, hoping that he would buy something and go away. 

“Well, if I was your husband, I’d never let you do this alone. God, men can be such selfish assholes. Your husband included.” The man sighed.

Olivia froze. She had no experience with men like him before. Even when George was in his worst mental state, he was never this rude and badgering.

“Wait. He’s actually sleeping?” A passerby commented. “Good for him! I know how draining nature magic can be!” 

The strange man stepped away from the counter, taken aback by the passerby’s support.

“But… how can you actually be ok with this?” He asked rather rudely.

“You must be new here.” The passerby said again. “Her husband is actually my good friend, George. Now, George does a lot for us here in the village, and I’m glad he’s actually taking a day off for a change.” 

Olivia was surprised by this gesture, and slightly taken aback by the passerby standing up for her.

Another person walked up to the shop, drawn in by the sudden chaos.

“Hey there, Liv. Quick question: Why don’t I help you run the place until George is rested?” She asked.

“Wait. Why are you offering to help me?” Olivia asked.

“Well, your husband has done so much for us! It’s only fair that we give back a bit, don’t you agree?” The person argued.

Everyone at the scene agreed, and the stranger left in frustration.


	7. The Illness Sets In

The alarm clock rang 2pm the next day, and George had only just awoken from his long slumber.

“Good morning, my love…” Olivia said sweetly. “How do you feel?”

George groaned as he sat up and attempted to make himself comfortable. 

“...oddly horrible. Everything hurts in some amount, and did you open the window, my darling? It seems rather chilly…”

“No, I don’t think I did. And I didn’t put the ceiling fan on, either. How could you possibly be cold?”

“I wish I knew.” He yawned.

“Still tired?”

“Very.” George muttered as he laid back down and threw the covers back over himself.

“Don’t move. I’ll be right back. I need to go get something. And don’t fall back asleep if you can handle it, ok?”

“Ok…”

***************************************************************************************************************

A few minutes later, Olivia returned with a thermometer.

“Love?”

George sat up and leaned up against the headboard, curious as to what Olivia had planned.

“Why do you keep this on the top shelf?”

“Just… never really think I need it.”

“Well, that’s not very helpful.”

“In retrospect, you’re right.” George sighed, taking the thermometer from Olivia and sticking it under his tongue.

Olivia looked longingly at George, just wanting him to not be so miserable and uncomfortable.

As she pulled the thermometer out, her eyes grew sad.

“Oh no… no wonder you feel so miserable, dear.”

“Fever?”

“Yeah…”

George started to rub his head with his hands.

“Why don’t I run a bath? We have that lavender and peppermint infusion, and that’ll help with your muscle aches.”

George gave a thumbs-up, and Olivia went to go run the bath.

******************************************************************************

“The bath is ready for you, love. There’s also a cup of tea for you. Same blend, just added a bit of honey.”

“Thank you, dear.” George said as he attempted to stand up.

“Here. let me help you.”

“Thank you, again. You know, I really owe you one.”

Olivia sighed and rubbed his shoulders.

“You really don’t though. Here, I’ll give you a few minutes while I get some soup going, ok?”

“Ok.” George said as he shut the bathroom door.

***************************************************************************************************************

About half an hour later, Olivia had put the finishing touches on the soup and was just letting it simmer. The game show on TV was doing nothing to distract her from the worry in the back of her mind, and she could only stir the soup for so long.

She sighed and went to the bathroom to check on George, and was only slightly surprised to find him fast asleep in the tub.

Normally, she would be peeved by this, only because he wasn’t sleeping anywhere more comfortable.

However, given the current circumstances, she found herself more sad at the current state of events. 

“Wake up, honey. I made some soup.”

George grumbled a bit as he woke up.

“Oh, that was far too kind of you, my dear. Here, allow me a few minutes, and I’ll meet you outside the door.”

“Oh, definitely.” Olivia said, closing the bathroom door. 

***************************************************************************************************************

George opened the door after about 5 minutes, holding on tightly to the door frame to keep steady. Olivia took his hand and led him back to bed, where he was greeted with the bowl of soup and a glass of ice water.

As he laid back down in the bed, he took the soup in his hands and just basked in its warmth and comforting homely smell. He ate a small spoonful of it, comforted by its familiarity.

“Good soup.” He said quickly.

Olivia nodded and smiled a bit, but her smile had faded when she realized that he had fallen asleep and curled back up into the covers. 

She rubbed his hair as she set the bowl and the cup in the fridge.


	8. The First Signs of the Curse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Body horror involving plants, blood, fainting, choking

The very next day, George decided that although he wasn’t all the way back to normal, he still had to get back to the shop to help out Olivia. 

Yes, he was still feeling rather unwell, but once Olivia had told him about the jackass the day prior, he figured that it would be best to be there in case someone pulled that bullshit again.

Overall, it was a calm morning. George had plenty of time to meditate and re-center his energy to get back to what he did best: helping others.

However, that all changed at around noon.

He’d received a specific potion request. One that had called for peppermint, in fact, for someone who was experiencing chronic knee pain. 

However, since there was no peppermint currently in stock, he decided to take matters into his own hands and to grow some himself.

This would later turn out to be a bad idea.

After the kind customer left, George was taken aback by a strange choking pain in his neck and an abrupt lightheadedness. 

Luckily, Olivia caught on fairly quickly.

“Are you ok, love?”

George nodded, trying to persuade her that everything was going smoothly.

However, his facade wouldn’t last long, as he felt the lightheadedness completely wrap him like a burrito and his legs gave out.

The last thing he heard was Olivia calling out his name.

***************************************************************************************************************

He woke up some time later with Olivia at his side, looking quite concerned.

The room he was in definitely looked less like the shop and more like the bedroom that he shared with her.

“...dear?”

Olivia hugged him tightly.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re awake. I got worried. How do you feel?”

George sighed.

“It hurts… I don’t know what, but there’s definitely pain somewhere.”

“Here…” Olivia whispered, handing George a mirror and basically inviting him to look into it.

Not even he could have guessed what horror would await him in that moment.

Wrapped around his neck was a thick, dark green vine that seemed to ooze an unnatural amount of blood.

He held the mirror tight as his hands trembled in fear, and he felt Olivia gently rub his shoulder.

“Stay here, ok love? I’m going to get Brian. He’ll know what’s going on. I shouldn’t be too long now.”

As she left, the pain continued to course through his veins, but he was left too afraid and drained from it all to make a sound.


	9. The Bad News

In what seemed like no time at all, Brian showed up at the front door.

“Olivia! It happened already?”

“Yeah. Seems that way. Come, come on in and see.”

Brian stepped in the house, removing his shoes and setting them by the front door of course (he was very particular about that), and rushed into the bedroom where the door was left open and George had been staring out the window, admiring the seasonal blooms.

“Hi there, George. How’s the pain?” Brain asked.

George turned around, revealing the vine that had found its new home, to which Brian let out an (admittedly) undignified scream.

Olivia sat down on the end of the bed as Brian grabbed the ends.

“So, George… we have some terrible news.”

“Oh?” George pondered, as no stranger to terrible news himself.

“...George…” Brian sighed sadly. “...you’ve been afflicted with… the curse.”

“What curse?”

“Le Fléau de Venin.”

__ George slightly gasped.

“That explains the vine then. And the tiredness. And the fever.” George muttered.

“Yes, dear. All of those. And, because of the bloom…”

Brian butted in.

“YOUHAVEONEWEEKTOLIVE.”

“Brian!”

“Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

“Now, George… you won’t really be leaving everything behind. I’ll take over the shop and everything else. And I promise you, my dear. With all of the good you’ve done, you won’t be gone in vain.”

She sweetly kissed his forehead, and a serene look swept over his face.

“If this is to be my fate, then so be it. I can’t really do anything else about it, so why fuss about it?”

Olivia sighed and gently rubbed his hand.

Now, George has always been relatively open to the idea that he would die one day. He knew it was inevitable, and thus, had made peace with it at the tender age of 27. 

However, that peace was soon interrupted by a heartbreaking realization.

“How will Dhani cope?”

“He’s growing into a fine young man. He’ll do ok for himself.”

“...he’s just awfully young to lose a father.”


	10. Not The Only Premonition

“Begonias again. You’re stressed about something. Don’t lie.”

Dhani sighed in frustration.

“I’m alright, love. Just…” 

Now, the person he was talking to here was none other than his college roommate. 

The 2 had met on Dhani’s 1st day at university, when sweet little torenias were blooming into his hair as his excited smile grew wider and wider in his first college-level science course. While the other students stared at him funny, and one brutal bully had taken to calling him “fairy garden” in an attempt to belittle him, his roommate, who was also in the class, said to him:

“Y’know, he was just jealous of how cute you are. Don’t pay attention to him.”

And in that moment, Dhani felt his heart skip a beat, and the torenias in his hair slowly transformed into pretty little red roses.

That was one of 2 main distinctions between his and his father’s magic: in sync with his emotions, flowers would bloom in his hair. 

The other distinction was the premonitions.

Dhani seemed like the only one he knew who got them, and his usually occurred 2 hours before he was told anything at all. Most of the time, they were about trivial life improvements like meeting someone at a flower shop or getting an unexpected complementary treat with his usual morning coffee. 

However, this premonition was anything but.

He sighed as a begonia petal fell onto his shoulder.

“After I finished that physics test, I got this… chill. So I closed my eyes for a bit, since I didn’t know if the professor gave us permission to leave. And… I had this strange dream…”

The roommate, who will be called Pierre for simplicity purposes, perked his head up.

“What… kind of dream?”

Dhani shuddered.

“I was standing in a barren, desert field. There were people from what seemed like 3 or 4 other universes there, and… they were all cheering. We had won some triumphant battle, and we felt like we saved the world.”

“That’s a good thing, though, right?”

“...no.”

“What else happened?”

“I saw my father die.”

Pierre froze in shock.

“He didn’t die in the traditional sense, he just turned into a life-sized topiary. Like, it seemed so slow, but it was only within a span of minutes. That only happens in my village if you’re affected by this… curse… oh no…”

Pierre rubbed Dhani’s shoulders.

“I’ll drive you home, Dhan. Just give me the address, and I’ll figure it out from there.”

“If you feel like it. It’s on the blue post-it note on the back of my planner. I’ll be right back, I need to get my makeup work.”

“...makeup work?” Pierre pondered.

“...I’ll be out of school for a while? Can’t let my grades slip?”

“Ah, I forget your dedication.” Pierre commented, planting a small kiss on Dhani’s forehead. “You go do you, love.”

***************************************************************************************************************

“Yes, Mr. Harrison?” The physics professor answered.

Dhani shyly opened the door, attempting to balance all of the books and loose papers in his arms.

“Going on vacation?” The professor joked.

“No, actually. Preparing for a family emergency. My father… just fell ill, and they estimate he has a week to live.” Dhani stated, eerily sure he didn’t just pull this out of his ass.

“Ah, I get it. No worries. We won’t be doing much in class for the next month or so. Just keep reviewing your notes, and I’ll email if there’s any updates.”

Dhani paused.

“...a month?”

“Yeah, give or take. I usually estimate a month if there’s a family emergency.”

“Interesting.”

On that note, Dhani opened the door again.

“Thank you, again.”

“Hey, no problem. I trust you, Dhani.”

***************************************************************************************************************

A 2 hour bike ride conveniently became a 10 minute drive to the village, and Pierre happily admired it’s quaintness and serenity. He parked in front of the house that Dhani had pointed out.

Upon opening the front door, Dhani’s worst fears were realized as he saw the vine around George’s neck.

“Dad… It’s true, then...”

“Sadly yes, son. But it’s not something I wasn’t prepared for. How did you get here?”

“My boyfriend- IMEANROOMATE, Pierre, offered to drive me.”

Olivia stood in shock.

“I.. didn’t think you were dating.”

Dhani shuffled awkwardly and tugged at his shirt sleeves.

“I… may have not been honest about that, just to keep you all at bay. My grades are still good, and I’m set to graduate next semester, but there’s something else I haven’t told you…”

George sat up on the sofa, waiting intently to hear what his son had to say.

“Mom… dad… I’m bisexual.”

George smirked a bit.

“Hi, bisexual! I’m dad!”

Dhani groaned, and Olivia just set down her coffee mug.

“Well, you’re still my son. And I'll love you and support you no matter what.” Olivia said warmly.

“And can I be honest here?” George piped up. “You remember my friend Ringo, right?”

“Mhm.” Dhani muttered.

“Well, I still love him, and most definitely in the same way I love your mom.”

“YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU WERE QUEER!” Brian blurted out.

“It just wasn’t relevant until now, Eppy.”

“YOU’VE MET MY HUSBAND!”

“Wait, dad, I… didn’t think you’d be bi.”

“Well, I just never found it to be important. But even still, I’m just glad you’re here.”

Dhani smiled with tears in his eyes.


	11. Unexpected Attack

There was this… grumbling sound outside that caught Dhani’s attention.

“What’s that?” He asked.

Olivia turned towards the window, where all she saw was darkness.

“I don’t know, Dhan. That’s a good question, though. Why don’t we check it out? George?”

“Hm?” George replied.

“Are you in a state to go outside?”

“Of course, Olivia. Wait. You saw it too?”

“Yeah…”

***********************************************************************************************************

By the time they went outside, the whole village seemed crowded by their house, and they were all looking up at the same thing.

“What the fuck is that?” Brian asked.

In front of all of the townspeople was this strange creature. It seemed more like a blackish-grayish blob, and from it seemed to spawn a multitude of arms and as many eyes as there were people there.

Nobody had ever seen anything like it before.

One of the arms swung down, sweeping away from the crowd and into a small cluster of houses, destroying one of them.

“My house!” Someone in the crowd yelled. 

“Well, what do we do?” Someone asked.

They were all still crowded around each other, staring at the odd creature, wondering what the next move should be.

Out of nowhere, George spoke up.

“I’m not normally the one to incite violence. However…”

George spawned a small bit of his magic and aimed it at the creature. When it hit it, a small part of the darkness disappeared.

A lightbulb went off in Dhani’s brilliant mind.

“What if we all threw our magic at it?” Dhani asked.

Most of the crowd was confused.

“We don’t normally fight, though…”

“I’m very aware of that. But you all saw what George did, though, right?”

“We saw it, yes.”

“And you saw that it worked?”

They paused, and all thought amongst themselves. Eventually, someone else threw their magic at the monster, and another part of it disappeared.

“He’s right! Imagine what would happen if we all banded together.”

The crowd let out a collective cheer, and soon, everyone was mustering up all of their power and courage to use their magic to save their quaint little village.

Eventually, the monster disappeared, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. 

“It worked! By George, it worked!”

“Didn’t he tell you it would?”

George sighed, and he held his right index finger in pain as a tiny daisy chain sprouted, encircling the finger.

“Darling,” Olivia said as she crouched down to him. “It’s getting far too dangerous for you to use your magic.”

“I know.” George groaned in pain. “I know. But in the end, it was for the greater good.”

Olivia only sighed, as she helped him get back on his feet.

As George stood up again, there was another strange occurrence.

“What’s that?” A young child asked.

In front of George was a strange hole. Strange in the fact that it just appeared out of nowhere, but even stranger that there was this blue light coming from the inside of the hole.

“Holy shit, Dad. That’s a portal.” Dhani blurted out.

It was indeed a portal.

But where did it go?

The energy surrounding it seemed to suck George in, and there was no stopping it. The whole ordeal took mere seconds, and just like that, it was closed.

The crowd grew silent once again, as no one really comprehended what had just occurred. 

“Dad?” Dhani asked, confused.


	12. Sources

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's... basically where I got all of my info from. If you want to check out these links, feel free to do so!

_3\. Turmeric._ 2020. <https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FvvXGdQjcyI/maxresdefault.jpg%20>

About the Author: Pain Doctor Pain Doctor was created with one mission in mind: help and educate people about their pain conditions, et al. “These Are The 5 Best Essential Oils For Muscle Pain.” _Pain Doctor_ , 18 Jan. 2018. [https://paindoctor.com/essential-oils-for-muscle-pain/ ](https://paindoctor.com/essential-oils-for-muscle-pain/)

“The Best Teas to Drink in the Morning.” _Healthsomeness.com_ , Amazon Services LLC, 27 Jan. 2020. [https://www.healthsomeness.com/best-teas-drink-morning/ ](https://www.healthsomeness.com/best-teas-drink-morning/)

“Convert from United States Dollar (USD) to British Pound Sterling (GBP).” _The Money Converter_ , [https://themoneyconverter.com/USD/GBP ](https://themoneyconverter.com/USD/GBP)

“Dhani Harrison.” _Wikipedia_ , Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Oct. 2020. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhani_Harrison#Early_life ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhani_Harrison#Early_life)

“Feature Flower Friday: Begonias.” _Garden of Eden Flowers_ , 2 Sept. 2016, [https://gardenofedenflowershop.com/blogs/garden-of-eden/feature-flower-friday-begonias ](https://gardenofedenflowershop.com/blogs/garden-of-eden/feature-flower-friday-begonias)

“Indian Summer Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice, 46 Fl. Oz.” _Walmart.com_ , Walmart, 8 Oct. 2020, <https://www.walmart.com/ip/Indian-Summer-Montmorency-Tart-Cherry-Juice-46-Fl-Oz/10307359?wmlspartner=wlpa>

Kaye, Susan. “Home Remedy for Arthritis Knee Pain.”  _ Healthfully _ , 14 Aug. 2017.  [ https://healthfully.com/63036-home-remedy-arthritis-knee-pain.html ](https://healthfully.com/63036-home-remedy-arthritis-knee-pain.html)

“The Language of Flowers.”  _ The Natural Wedding Company _ ,  [ https://thenaturalweddingcompany.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/spring_wedding_flower_symbolism2.jpg ](https://thenaturalweddingcompany.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/spring_wedding_flower_symbolism2.jpg)

SparkleBabe. “Do People Still Eat Jam Butties?”  _ Digital Spy _ , 28 Jan. 2008,  [ https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/738054/do-people-still-eat-jam-butties ](https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/738054/do-people-still-eat-jam-butties)

“Torenia (Wishbone Flower; Bluewings; Clown Flower).”  _ A To Z Flowers _ , 1 May 2020,  [ https://www.atozflowers.com/flower/torenia/ ](https://www.atozflowers.com/flower/torenia/)

**Author's Note:**

> 1)Yes, I know this isn’t true. It’s a fucking Alternate Universe. Let me live.   
> 2)I also know that Dhani didn’t study engineering. His degree is in industrial design and physics.   
> 3)Dhani is about 23 in this fic, about the same age as when he graduated with his degree.


End file.
